They have
a Vladarama (Ok not Carlos, but Roland. Still a scary name...)

Minnesota Thunder History

On Oct. 16, 1999, the Minnesota Thunder
professional soccer club concluded its 10th season by winning the A-League
championship with a 2-1 victory over the defending champion Rochester Raging
Rhinos in front of 9,987 at the National Sports Center in Blaine.

The Thunder, playing in their fourth
national final in six seasons, finished 28-6 after winning their 13th
consecutive match. Minnesota's first championship season also included a 1-0
exhibition victory over the Tampa Bay Mutiny of Major League Soccer (MLS).

The Minnesota Thunder soccer club was
founded in 1990 by longtime St. Paul Academy coach Manuel "Buzz" Lagos
and Tom Engstrom. Comprised of amateur players and a few ex-pros, the club aimed
to give Minnesota's young players an opportunity to compete at a higher level
than that offered by the state's amateur men's leagues.

From '90 through '93, the Thunder played
an exhibition schedule that grew from five games the first year to 14 in '93.
Following the '93 season, Minnesota took foreign tours of Europe, playing games
against teams from the Netherlands, Belgium, France, Morocco and Zambia, and
Costa Rica.

The Thunder joined the United Soccer
Leagues (formerly USISL) in '94 as an amateur team and, competing against some
professional teams in the playoffs, lost the national final to the host
Greensboro Dynamo in a shootout. Minnesota turned pro in '95 and again reached
the national championship match, losing 2-1 to the host Long Island Rough Riders
on a goal with 6 seconds remaining in regulation.

The Thunder and other top teams from the
USL joined the Select League in '96, and Minnesota reached the national
semifinals before falling to the eventual champion California Jaguars. During
the '96 season, the Thunder lost standouts Tony Sanneh and Manuel Lagos to the
newly-formed Major League Soccer.

Competition-wise, the Thunder took another
step up in '97 by joining the A-League, which merged the top teams from the
Select League with six squads from the old A-League. Despite going 2-2 against
eventual national champion Milwaukee, the Thunder struggled to a 13-15 finish -
by far the worst in club history - and missed the playoffs by one point.

In 1998, bolstered by the off-season
signings of Kevin Anderson from Long Island, Stoian Mladenov of Bulgaria,
Constantin Stanici of Romania, Morgan Zeba of Sweden and Garfield Shaw of
Jamaica, the Thunder's A-League fortunes improved dramatically. Minnesota scored
52 goals in 28 regular-season games (up from a league-low 22 in '97) and
advanced to the playoffs with a 19-9 record.

The Thunder won the Western Conference
championship by ousting defending champ Milwaukee in the opening round and
sweeping past two-time A-League champ Seatle ('95 and '96) and top-seeded San
Diego in a pair of two-game series. In the league championship match,
Minnesota's third in five seasons, the Thunder fell 3-1 to the host Rochester
Raging Rhinos (30-4) in front of 13,772 at Frontier Field.

In addition to its on-field success - five
trips to the national semifinals or beyond in the past six seasons - Minnesota
has earned national recognition for helping develop first-division pro stars
such as Tony Sanneh (Hertha Berlin), Manuel Lagos (Tampa Bay Mutiny) and Tom
Presthus of MLS champion D.C. United. Last season, Thunder goalkeeper John
Swallen was named A-League MVP and president and GM Bill Manning was honored as
Executive of the Year. Minnesota was recognized as the A-League's Organization
of the Year in '97, and Buzz Lagos was named United Soccer Leagues (USL) Coach
of the Year in '95.

Lagos was chosen as one of the Star
Tribune newspaper's 100 Most Important Sports Figures of the Century, joining a
list that included Minnesota icons Kirby Puckett, Bronko Nagurski, George Mikan,
Bud Grant and Harmon Killebrew.